By Rahul Banerji
What do you do when a cleanly-struck golf ball comes screaming at your head” Duck? Fend it off? Pray? All of the above? Or none of the above? After all a golf ball struck at that velocity can wreak serious damage on human contact.
For a heartbeat, this writer looked set to join his ancestors when a playing partner best left unnamed hammered a 3-wood less than a foot over his head on Friday.
Luckily, a lack of inches prevented that from happening (I’m too short, in other words) but can vouch for the fact that there was no time for any of the above-mentioned alternatives as the ball hummed past.
Having a go
The par-5 17th hole at the Noida Golf Course is an invitation to open the shoulders and throw the kitchen sink at your ball. It’s a tricky one as the fairway curves left at a critical point, inviting too many options particularly for someone who does not play there very often.
My friend, on the bendy NGC layout for the first time, was at the apex of the turn (to borrow a phrase from my favourite Formula One commentators) and went off line.
The result was two badly shaken golfers and a trembling caddy. It could also have led to a ballooning score. In the event, we were able to walk away with par, even if a somewhat shaky one! A tribute to my teachers whose Golfing One lesson was, leave the last shot behind where you (mis) hit it.
All this less than 24 hours after a freak storm blanketed large parts of the Noida-Greater Noida in golf-ball sized hailstones. Strange days indeed.
Choi steals the show
Meanwhile, news from Pebble Beach in California suggests South Korea’s Ho Sung Choi has got off to a good start in his PGA Tour debut at the ongoing high-profile celeb Pro-Am.
Playing on Thursday, a Tour media statement said, the fun and games started even before Choi and his partners teed off with some horseplay between him, Jerry Kelly and Aaron Rodgers at the Monterrey Peninsula Country Club.
Apparently, the two peeled into Choi’s golf bag for a closer look at his unique club-head covers, which are imprinted with the logos of his famously-unorthodox swing.
“Seizing the moment, Choi quickly grabbed a head cover off of a club and placed it on his hand. Then he patted the two on their backs with the makeshift mitten, drawing huge laughs from the gallery behind them,” the PGA said.
Good recovery
And though he did not make a great start, Choi – playing on a sponsor’s exemption – was to recover later in the round, going 1-over 72 after teeing off on hole 3.
“I tried not to be, but I was nervous over the first few holes,” Choi was to say later. “But I think I was lacking a little bit on my approach putts. Other than that it was a great experience.”
Choi began the day by placing rabbit ears over his playing partners’ heads as they posed for photographs, then followed it up with a near hole-out from the trees that helped him save par, the PGA said.
“I felt like I was really lucky on the first hole, but I was disappointed with some of the bogeys I made on the front. So I tried to stay focused on the back.
“I’ve had a lot of experiences on courses on the Korean and Japan Tours but I felt like the biggest difference was on the greens. I just couldn’t get used to it and it was very fast, so that was something that was the most difficult part for me.”
Fan power
His first birdie came on the par-3 11th, which drew a huge fist pump and a roar from the crowd.
“I definitely felt the love from my fans,” he said. “I felt like that pushed me more to focus on the back nine.”
“The crowds were fantastic. They were yelling, ‘We love you, Ho Sung!” Kelly added. “They were sending out a lot to him. He was great. He would always turn around and give them a wave. The guy can play. It’s a great thing to give him a spot, but it’s not a charity thing, he can play.”
Choi starts Friday’s second round at the Spyglass Hill course in a tie for 111th place.
Brian Gay and Scott Langley lead the tournament at 7 under, with six players—including Si Woo Kim — in a tie for second place on 6 under.
Dharma on a roll
In Hyderabad, Bangalore’s M. Dharma grabbed the sole lead on Friday in the Rs. 40 lakh Golconda Masters powered By Telangana Tourism. Dharma, the joint halfway leader, carded a two-under-69 in the penultimate round to build a two-shot lead at 16-under-197 at the Hyderabad Golf Club.
The chasing pack at 14-under-199 featured some established names including fellow-Bangalorean S. Chikkarangappa (70), Delhi’s Rashid Khan (68), Chandigarh’s Karandeep Kochhar (66), who shot the day’s joint lowest score and Priyanshu Singh (68) of Gurgaon, the 2019 PGTI Qualifying School champion playing in only his second professional event.
Also read: Quality field at Golconda Masters as 2019 PGTI season tees off
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